1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a kit for promoting oral hygiene while away from home, for example, while at the office or when travelling. The kit comprises a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and breath spray contained in a housing which outwardly resembles a fountain pen.
2. Description of Related Art
Oral hygiene kits designed primarily for use outside the home which resemble a fountain pen are known.
The basic models combined a toothbrush and a dentifrice, such as toothpaste, in a fountain pen shaped housing. Representative are the following U.S. Patents: Glatt (U.S. Pat. No. 1,357,285), Schmerler (U.S. Pat. No. 1,386,806), Mather (U.S. Pat. No. 1,505,363), Brockelsby (U.S. Pat. No. 1,716,617), Christian (U.S. Pat. No. 1,780,066), Hamel (U.S. Pat. No. 2,053,145), Velodota (U.S. Pat. No. 2,640,488), Clark (U.S. Pat. No. 4,275,750), Broussard (U.S. Pat. No. 4,768,531), and Huang (U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,848). While sufficient for their intended purposes, as a group they are limited just to the brushing of teeth, only a part of complete oral hygiene.
Another group of inventors recognized that flossing is an important part of dental hygiene. This group provided a container (not disclosed as a simulated fountain pen) combining a dentifrice with a length of dental floss. Representative of this group are the following U.S. Patents: Fraser (U.S. Pat. No. 1,486,810), Decker (U.S. Pat. No. 1,492,836), Brennan (U.S. Pat. No. 1,733,114), Max Klinger (U.S. Pat. No. 1,792,429), and Grussmark (U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,951). These inventions did not meet the needs of travellers, inasmuch as a toothbrush had to be carried separately, and their containers were not as convenient nor as inconspicuous as a fountain pen.
A more complete kit combining a toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss received attention from another group of inventors: Healy (U.S. Pat. No. 1,473,766), Merrill (U.S. Pat. No. 1,642,620), McManis et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 2,199,922), Fickle (U.S. Pat. No. 2,233,522), Boulicault (U.S. Pat. No. 2,468,732), Gipson (U.S. Pat. No. 4,919,156), Yaneza (U.S. Pat. No. 4,957,125), Nelson (U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,386), Corona (U.S. Pat. No. 5,078,526), Embry et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,940), and Carter (U.S. Pat. No. 5,865,195). The embodiments in this group suffered from various problems, usually brought about by an attempt to limit the size of the xe2x80x9cfountain penxe2x80x9d. Corona, Embry et al., and Carter made no pretense at simulating a fountain pen, so the size and appearance of their inventions were disadvantageous. Most inventors aligned the toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss seriatim which resulted in overly large xe2x80x9cfountain pensxe2x80x9d: Healy, Merrill, McManis et al., Fickle, Boulicault, Gipson, Yaneza, and Nelson. Healy and Nelson were alone in attempting a moderate degree of nesting elements, but they nested only two of their kit""s components. Other problems find their roots in individual design considerations. In some, the bitter ends of the dental floss and their cutters were often exposed to contamination and damage: Healy, Merrill, Boulicault, Yaneza, and Corona. Nelson and Carter chose to hand-wind the dental floss on the toothbrush handle, where it was constantly exposed, an obvious disadvantage. Virtually all, Merrill, McManis et al., Fickle, Gipson, Yaneza, Nelson, Corona, Embry et al., and Carter hand-filled their toothpaste container, either a compartment in the fountain pen or a separate tube, a nuisance at best; at worst, the constant reusing of the container resulted in hardening of residual toothpaste which clogged the passageways, rendering the containers (which often meant the kit itself) unusable. Healy and Boulicault avoided this problem by using a dentifrice in a solid stick form. Nelson and Carter added a refillable compartment for mouthwash, which added to the size of the kit.
No one, to the inventor""s knowledge, combined a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and breath spray in a single housing which outwardly resembled a fountain pen.
Other showings are worthy of note: Broussard and Lee (U.S. Pat. No. 5,622,195) replaced the dental floss with other items, namely, a flashlight and razor, respectively. Odence (U.S. Pat. No. 3,406,694) combined a hairbrush and hair spray in a single housing, not an oral hygiene kit nor a simulated fountain pen.
The present invention overcomes the difficulties described above by providing a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and a canister of breath spray in a simulated fountain pen. The fountain pen is of a reasonable size due to a better utilization of space within the fountain pen housing by nesting the toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss. Problems due to hand-refillable toothpaste containers, especially those built into the housing, and to hand-wound dental floss are avoided by using commercially available, individually packaged toothpaste tubes and dental floss spools which are easily replaceable. Contamination and damage thereof is obviated by housing them in protected areas sealed off from the external environment.
An object of the invention is to provide an oral hygiene kit comprising a fountain pen simulation housing a toothbrush, toothpaste, dental floss, and breath spray.
Another object of the invention is to nest the toothbrush, toothpaste, and dental floss in order to conserve space, thereby producing a smaller, more natural xe2x80x9cfountain pen.xe2x80x9d